morning from washington. it’s monday
july 9th
,
2012
. right to the first reads of the morning.
president obama
will stress the looming fiscal cliff for the first time when it calls for a one-year extension with people earning less than $250,000 a year. all the
tax cuts
are set to expire. the president will make the announcement surrounded by workers and families. they would benefit if the rates were extended. it is likely to be an extended fight intended to draw contrast by baiting them into extending
tax cuts
. here’s
obama
‘s campaign senior adviser
robert gibbs
this morning on today.

i think it’s time to pay down some of our debts and deficits by doing away with the breaks showered on millionaires and billionaires and give certainty to
middle class
families.

they will push in a series of interviews at the local stations on the
white house
and on the road tomorrow when he travels to
cedar rapids
, iowa and visits the home of a couple who make a combined $82,000 a year and would face an additional
tax burden
if the existing rates expire. the president’s proposal puts them at odds with republicans who want an extension of all the
tax cuts
. here is
mitch mcconnell
sunday.

we ought to extend the current rates for another year with a hard requirement to get through comprehensive
tax reform
.

republicans are expected to pass the legislation before the end of the month that would preserve the
tax cuts
. today’s move puts the president out of step with congressional democrats including
nancy pelosi
and
chuck schumer
who want to move it to a million dollars on the next front. the question is, is this the president’s opening offer? do we draw a
line in the sand
and promise to veto any legislation that extends all of the
tax cuts
or does it pave the way for a full one-year extension for all of them and decoupling of the
middle class

tax cuts
from the
high end
would be what would define victory for the
white house
. we have been down this road before. the president campaigned against the
tax cuts
for the owner in
2008
and campaigned against them in
2010
. they all got extended temporarily as part of the larger deal. the question is, does he make a veto threat? is there teeth to this policy change? anything that sets up republicans and
mitt romney
is defenders of the wealthy does fit in with what the
obama
message machine was about. it was clearly a strategic decision. democrats launched a coordinated assault on
romney
on personal wealth.

i have never known of a switch back on building an
american bridge
and create
american jobs
.

either get a
swiss bank account
or you believe the
swiss frank
is stronger than the
american dollar
.

the slogan is believe in america. it should be business in bermuda.

debbie wassermann schultz who hadn’t brought it up asked to change the subject to make the point.

i want to raise one other point.

quickly.

i really like to see
mitt romney
release more than one year of tax records. people ask themselves why does an
american businessman
need a
swiss bank account
?

there were not many
romney
surrogates out to defend him, but they responded in a statement, the
obama campaign
‘s latest unfounded character assault on
mitt romney
is unseemly and disgusting he pays every dime of taxes he oh,s and gives to charitable donations. how far the campaign is willing to go with suggestions that
romney
has done something improper in financial dealings.

you suggesting that
mitt romney
is guilty of a felony?

nobody has an idea because the only person with a
tax return
is
mitt romney
.

it is a distraction from the real discussion. we are not talking about jobs.

release the
tax returns
and put all this to rest.

it’s not a coincidence they allowed
romney
to change the subject on a tough week for his campaign. they unloaded on him personally. the economic numbers have taken a dip and they ramped up attacks. that’s clear how long the
romney
campaign will be able to leave the attacks on his personal wealth and his business career largely unanswered. he said it’s distracting from the economy, this stuff is taking a poll and if you sit out there and leave it fully unchallenged. after a week of vacation in new hampshire, he returned to the fund-raising, holding three high dollar evens and getting a lot more attention. there is a $50,000 per person at the home and literally drew protesters by air, land, and sea. protesters stormed the beach chanting i singing and waving signs that said
romney
has a koch problem. he does plenty of high dollar fund-raisers of his own. two scheduled for today at the
mandarin oriental
here in washington. quotes like this one from a
romney
donor outside of revlon chairman’s state don’t help him dispel the narrative. i don’t think the
common person
is getting it. we’ve got the message, but my college kid, the baby-sitters and the nails ladies, everybody whose got the right to vote. if you are lower income you are not as educate and two, they don’t understand how it works. the high dollar events have an upside. they reported that they campaigned
romney

victory fund
and the rnc rate combined $106 million in june. republicans believe that ultimately the election will be a referendum on
economic policy
. so much so, here’s speaker
boehner
making news by making that point a bit ham handedly at a
june 30th
fund-raiser in
west virginia
. you can make me love
mitt romney
. he said no and said the following.
mitt romney
has some friends, relatives and fellow mormons. some people that are going to vote for him. that’s not what the election is going to be about. it’s a referendum on the president’s failed policies. asked to respond from the rnc chair, he hasn’t always been wild about his support for
romney
and a bit more refusive.

a lot of people who know
mitt romney
will really, really like him and think he’s an enormously generous guy. he has given incredible amounts of money to charity. there is a lot to love. the election will be a referendum on
obama
‘s policies.

there you have it. the
boehner

romney
thing, when this campaign got started they assumed
boehner
would be most comfortable with
romney
at the top of the ticket. a lot of concerns that
romney
is allowing this wealth message, if you will. to get ahold a little bit making them look out of touch with the
middle class
. it’s political

Article source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/the-daily-rundown/48119149/